NMHS grad Price has no regrets in choosing USF

As college football's annual bowl season raged around him, Sean Price knew all-too-well that he could have been at any number of exotic venues playing out his boyhood dream.

By Byron SaucerStaff writer

As college football's annual bowl season raged around him, Sean Price knew all-too-well that he could have been at any number of exotic venues playing out his boyhood dream.The Rivals250 tight end out of North Marion High School had elite suitors lined up for his services when he selected the University of South Florida on National Signing Day last February.Price could have stayed in-state and played in BCS bowls with Florida in the Sugar, or the Seminoles in the Orange.There were opportunities at Oklahoma (Cotton), both Outback players — Michigan and South Carolina offered — along with Georgia (Capital One), LSU (Chick-fil-A) and Cincinnati, which knocked off Duke — another program that desperately wanted the athletic 6-foot-4 athlete — in the Belk Bowl.Even as Alabama was collecting its second straight national title with a 42-14 thumping of previously unbeaten Notre Dame down in Miami, Price understood he could have been standing on either sideline of college football's biggest stage.Instead, the kid who could have signed anywhere chose Skip Holtz and the Bulls. And while Price was greeted with a disappointing three-win season at USF, which fired the coach who recruited him soon after, he says he wouldn't change a thing."It was a tough year, but at the same time it was a learning experience," Price said of his freshman season. "I learned a lot. I developed as a man and as a player as well. I have no regrets."The all-state tight end successfully made the transition from Friday nights to Saturday afternoons by catching 21 passes — tied for third on the team — for 200-plus yards and a touchdown. But there were some bumps along the way.Price had to bone up on techniques he didn't necessarily need at the prep level, where the deceptively fast and physical athlete had toyed with defenders too small or too slow to handle him."It's a lot," Price said. "You're learning more about the little things that matter the most. From running your routes, to reading the defenses, and learning how to block. It's just a bunch of little things."Price stayed at it, playing in all 12 games for the Bulls and finally carving out a true role for himself by midseason. It wasn't a position the four-year varsity player, who racked up more receiving yards at North Marion than any Colt in history, was used to being in."I just tried to play my role," Price said. "I know the coaches were trying to fill out the offense, and once he figured out where he wanted me, he put me in and we started flowing a lot better."Now, with Holtz at Louisiana Tech, Price has another process to tackle this spring — getting to know new head coach Willie Taggart and his staff. The energetic coach became a hot prospect after bringing respectability to Western Kentucky over the past three years. Before that, Taggart played a big part in helping Jim Harbaugh put Stanford — known for utilizing NFL-bound tight ends — back on the map.Price says he's excited about the new opportunities and feels he's ready to take a big stride forward this fall."The new staff runs the pro style (offense), which I like," he said. "(Taggart's) already put two tight ends in the league. He talks great about tight ends and really uses tight ends. So it sounds good to me."I'll be there next year starting. I'm ready."Price is one of many Marion County kids who grew up watching the guys ahead of him lay the foundation for future generations. He and teammates Latroy Pittman (UF), Jamie Gilmore (Temple) and Jabarai Bothwell (Western Michigan) made up the Colts' most accomplished recruiting class in 2012. But he says the dream started much earlier in the stands of Stan Toole Memorial Stadium."Growing up watching them on the football field Friday nights and reading the newspaper, it just inspired me," Price said. "I wanted to be THAT player one day."He'll get that chance on Aug. 31 when the Bulls open their 2013 season against McNeese State in Tampa.